Harry Flashby
Henry "Harry" Flashby is a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and later a member of Intelligence, and serves as the central antagonist of the series. Jacky first encounters him at the end of Curse of the Blue Tattoo, at the post-race dinner at Dovecote, during which she notices him staring at her. He recognizes her as "the Jack-a-Roe" and informs her that her exploits on the high seas and in America are very well known throughout the ports of Europe. Later in the night, when Jacky has been fooled into a drunken blackout by Clarissa Worthington Howe, Flashby drags Jacky down the hall in an attempt to rape her, until he is thwarted by Randall Trevelyne, who is no match for Flashby. Flashby resurfaces in Mississippi Jack as an agent of the British attempting to stir up a conflict between the Natives and the Settlers, offering Tecumseh, Half Red Face, and other chiefs money for the scalps of white American settlers. He once again recognizes Jacky and once again to her detriment, intending on collecting the two hundred pounds sterling reward on her head. After capturing her, he and his cohort Moseley are soon attacked and kidnapped by Jacky's friends on the Belle of the Golden West. Here, Jacky humiliates Flashby and Moseley before putting on "pirate" theatrics and forcing them both to walk the plank into the shallow waters of the Mississippi. In ''Rapture of the Deep'','' Flashby is installed as Second Mate of the HMS ''Dolphin in order for the Admiralty to keep an eye on Jacky during her treasure-hunting expedition. He betrays the Brits, having been in league with pirate El Feo for years, and attempts to snatch the gold for himself. However, Jacky tricks Flashby into stumbling into the alligator pit where Joan Nichols was previously attacked. Jacky hears a cry from shore, and hopes that Flashby has been killed by the one-eyed gator that attacked Joannie. Flashby escapes, however, after hiding in a tree with a pirate, and pushing the latter out to distract the alligators. In [[The Wake of the 'Lorelei Lee'|''The Wake of the 'Lorelei Lee']], Flashby arranges Jacky's capture by conspiring with the new First Lord and by giving false testimony at Jacky's trial, which leads to her being sentenced to the penal colony in Australia, though Flashby and accomplice Alexander Bliffil wish for her to be hanged. In [[The Mark of the Golden Dragon|''The Mark of the Golden Dragon]],'' Flashby goes into hiding when he learns of the Black Highwayman (James Emerson Fletcher in disguise) and the latter's quest for vengeance against Flashby and Bliffil, the two men he holds responsible for Jacky's supposed demise during a typhoon. Flashby is found in a discreet location in London, where he is constantly surrounded by bodyguards and has local prostitutes, whom he frequently abuses, delivered to him on a nightly basis. His location is sniffed out by Joan Nichols, and Jacky quickly devises a plan to dress as an "exotic" prostitute in order to get to Flashby. The plan succeeds and Flashby is brought before the Highwayman (Jaimy); however, Flashby shoots and kills Bess while attempting to escape. He is then apprehended by Allen's men and framed as the Highwayman himself. Flashby is then imprisoned in Newgate. In [[Viva Jacquelina!|''Viva Jacquelina!]], Jaimy surmises with confidence that Flashby will escape his fate at Newgate and cause more damage to Jacky. Higgins later confirms in a letter that Flashby has been released, as he has several prominent supporters. In ''Wild Rover No More'','' Flashby creates an elaborate scheme to frame Jacky for treason. As Jacky's sham trial concludes and she is placed on the gallows, Flashby rides in to witness the event. When Gully MacFarland rushes onto the scene in order to right his wrong of selling out Jacky, Flashby shoots him dead. After it appears that Jacky has been executed, a very emotional Randall challenges Flashby to finish the duel they began all those years ago at Dovecote. Flashby, thinking (incorrectly) that Randall is drunk, accepts, and chooses swords as the weapon. It soon becomes evident that Randall, now a full-fledged Marine, is in top dueling form, and he stabs Flashby through the gut, killing him. Randall later reveals to Amy Trevelyne that his drunkenness was an elaborate charade, and that he'd only been drinking root beer. Trivia Flashby is named after (and shares an appearance and behavior with) George Mac Donald Fraser's [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/Flashman ''Flashman]character.Category:Characters